Engine maintenance is a particularly critical aspect of the upkeep of motor vehicles. In particular, internal combustion engine components such as cam gears requires precise tightening and alignment in order to ensure proper, efficient, safe operation of the vehicle.
While it is extremely critical for internal combustion engines that parts are well tightened and accurately placed, it is also important that no marks or imperfections are left behind. This requirement usually eliminates the practice of holding items with pliers or wrenches while bolts are tightened or loosened. As such, items like cam gears remain extremely difficult to remove and replace. Proper alignment is often relegated to a trial and error process because of slippage between the gear and nut during tightening. This results in increased time and decreased accuracy for the proper alignment of gears.
Various attempts have been made to provide device which provide counterbalancing torque to a generally round assembly for various applications. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,016, issued in the name of Ballard, describes a combination wrench which provides a retention means to a round assembly such as a pipe to prevent lateral and rotational movement while working on the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,936, issued in the name of Lewis, describes a strap wrench with an adjustable wrenching loop for engaging a round object.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,126, issued in the name of Teeter et al., describes a size-adjustable belt wrench with an adjustable clasping portion.
Additionally, ornamental designs for a strap wrench exist, particularly U.S. Pat. Nos. D 242,981 and D 369,076. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such devices are not sufficiently adjustable. Also, many such devices engage objects in a manner which is potentially damaging to an uneven surface. Furthermore, many such devices sufficiently decrease in effectiveness when not utilized on smooth round surfaces. In addition, many such devices are not adapted for use on many common mechanical assemblies such as those found in motor vehicles. Accordingly, there exists a need for a belt wrench without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.